Maple Creek is a town in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan, Canada. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Maple Creek No. 111. The population was 2,176 at the 2021 Census.
Maple Creek | |
---|---|
Town of Maple Creek | |
Motto: "Where Past Is Present" | |
Maple Creek Maple Creek | |
Coordinates: 49°54′21″N 109°28′46″W / 49.90583°N 109.47944°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Saskatchewan |
Rural municipality | Maple Creek |
Established | 1882 |
Incorporated (village) | 1896 |
Incorporated (town) | April 30, 1903 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Michelle McKenzie |
• Town Manager | Barry Elliott, CAO |
• Governing body | Maple Creek Town Council |
• MP | Jeremy Patzer |
• MLA | Doug Steele |
Area | |
• Land | 4.42 km2 (1.71 sq mi) |
Population (2016)[1] | |
• Total | 2,084 |
• Density | 471.3/km2 (1,221/sq mi) |
Time zone | CST |
Postal code | S0N 1N0 |
Area code | 306 |
Highways | Highway 21 Highway 271 Highway 724 |
Railways | Canadian Pacific |
Climate | Dfb |
Website | maplecreek.ca |
[2][3] |
The town is 103 kilometres (64 mi) southeast of Medicine Hat, Alberta, and 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park on Highway 21 and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of the Trans-Canada Highway. Maple Creek runs along the west side of town.
The administrative headquarters of the Nekaneet Cree Nation is 37 km (23 mi) southeast of Maple Creek.[4]
After the North-West Mounted Police had been established at Fort Walsh, settlers began to explore the Cypress Hills area, living along the creeks and doing small-scale ranching. The Department of the Interior was operating a First Nations farm on the Maple Creek, a few miles south from the present town site. In 1882-1883 the First Nations (mainly Cree, Saulteaux, and Assiniboine) were moved to Qu'Appelle, and the farm was then operated by Major Shurtleff, an ex-Mounted Policeman, and George Wood, his brother-in-law.
In the winter of 1882, a Canadian Pacific Railway construction crew of 12 decided to winter where the town of Maple Creek now stands. This marked the establishment of Maple Creek.[5]
In June 2010, a flood submerged some of the town when Maple Creek overflowed its banks. The same flood hit much of southwestern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta and even destroyed a portion of the Trans-Canada Highway.[6]
There are two designated municipal heritage Properties in Maple Creek:
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1901 | 382 | — |
1906 | 687 | +79.8% |
1911 | 936 | +36.2% |
1916 | 1,140 | +21.8% |
1921 | 1,002 | −12.1% |
1926 | 930 | −7.2% |
1931 | 1,154 | +24.1% |
1936 | 1,032 | −10.6% |
1941 | 1,085 | +5.1% |
1946 | 1,280 | +18.0% |
1951 | 1,638 | +28.0% |
1956 | 1,974 | +20.5% |
1961 | 2,291 | +16.1% |
1966 | 2,359 | +3.0% |
1971 | 2,268 | −3.9% |
1976 | 2,330 | +2.7% |
1981 | 2,470 | +6.0% |
1986 | 2,452 | −0.7% |
1991 | 2,334 | −4.8% |
1996 | 2,307 | −1.2% |
2001 | 2,270 | −1.6% |
2006 | 2,198 | −3.2% |
2011 | 2,176 | −1.0% |
2016 | 2,084 | −4.2% |
2021 | 2,176 | +4.4% |
Source: Statistics Canada [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][1] |
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Maple Creek had a population of 2,176 living in 988 of its 1,083 total private dwellings, a change of 4.4% from its 2016 population of 2,084. With a land area of 4.35 km2 (1.68 sq mi), it had a population density of 500.2/km2 (1,295.6/sq mi) in 2021.[17]
2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|---|
Population | 2,176 (+4.4% from 2016) | 2,084 (-4.2% from 2011) | 2,176 (-1.0% from 2006) |
Land area | 4.35 km2 (1.68 sq mi) | 4.42 km2 (1.71 sq mi) | 4.42 km2 (1.71 sq mi) |
Population density | 500/km2 (1,300/sq mi) | 471.3/km2 (1,221/sq mi) | 492.1/km2 (1,275/sq mi) |
Median age | 46.8 (M: 45.2, F: 48.0) | 46.5 (M: 46.4, F: 46.6) | |
Private dwellings | 1,083 (total) 988 (occupied) | 1,070 (total) | 1,028 (total) |
Median household income | $65,500 |
Population by ethnic origin, 2011 | ||
---|---|---|
Ethnic group[23] | Population | Percent |
European | 1,780 | 81.8% |
Other North American | 630 | 29% |
First Nations | 140 | 6.4% |
Métis | 50 | 2.3% |
African | 25 | 1.1% |
Latin, Central and South American | 20 | 0.9% |
Asian | 15 | 0.7% |
Total respondent population | 2175 | 100% |
Maple Creek experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk). With the exception of southwestern Alberta, winters in Maple Creek are typically warmer than those in the adjacent plain region of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, being a convergence point for Chinook winds originating along the Rocky Mountain Front. The mean maximum temperature in January 2006 was 5.3 °C [1] for the Maple Creek townsite, compared to 5.0 °C [2] for Calgary and 4.7 °C [3] for Medicine Hat.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Maple Creek was 41.0 °C (106 °F) on 29 June 1984.[24] The coldest temperature ever recorded was −46.7 °C (−52 °F) on 15 & 16 February 1936.[25]
Climate data for Maple Creek, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1921–present[a] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 21.1 (70.0) |
19.5 (67.1) |
24.0 (75.2) |
33.3 (91.9) |
37.8 (100.0) |
41.0 (105.8) |
40.6 (105.1) |
40.6 (105.1) |
37.8 (100.0) |
33.3 (91.9) |
24.0 (75.2) |
21.7 (71.1) |
41.0 (105.8) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.8 (27.0) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
5.6 (42.1) |
13.4 (56.1) |
18.9 (66.0) |
23.1 (73.6) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.1 (80.8) |
20.2 (68.4) |
13.1 (55.6) |
3.4 (38.1) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
12.3 (54.1) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −8.5 (16.7) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
6.5 (43.7) |
11.7 (53.1) |
16.1 (61.0) |
19.9 (67.8) |
19.2 (66.6) |
13.0 (55.4) |
6.6 (43.9) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
5.8 (42.4) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −14.0 (6.8) |
−11.4 (11.5) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
4.5 (40.1) |
9.0 (48.2) |
12.0 (53.6) |
11.2 (52.2) |
5.7 (42.3) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−12.5 (9.5) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
Record low °C (°F) | −45.6 (−50.1) |
−46.7 (−52.1) |
−36.1 (−33.0) |
−23.3 (−9.9) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
−25.0 (−13.0) |
−34.0 (−29.2) |
−42.8 (−45.0) |
−46.7 (−52.1) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 18.1 (0.71) |
13.1 (0.52) |
22.2 (0.87) |
25.0 (0.98) |
47.1 (1.85) |
76.5 (3.01) |
45.9 (1.81) |
43.4 (1.71) |
36.3 (1.43) |
23.9 (0.94) |
19.0 (0.75) |
17.6 (0.69) |
388.1 (15.28) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 1.4 (0.06) |
0.7 (0.03) |
5.7 (0.22) |
18.4 (0.72) |
41.8 (1.65) |
76.5 (3.01) |
45.9 (1.81) |
43.0 (1.69) |
34.9 (1.37) |
16.0 (0.63) |
2.6 (0.10) |
0.9 (0.04) |
287.6 (11.32) |
Average snowfall cm (inches) | 16.7 (6.6) |
12.3 (4.8) |
16.6 (6.5) |
6.6 (2.6) |
5.4 (2.1) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.4 (0.2) |
1.5 (0.6) |
7.9 (3.1) |
16.4 (6.5) |
16.7 (6.6) |
100.5 (39.6) |
Source: Environment Canada[24][26][27] |
The Sidney Street School[31] and the Maple Creek Composite School[32] serve the local community.
Great Plains College operates a satellite campus in Maple Creek.
Media related to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan at Wikimedia Commons